..We call for a better founded scientific debate which may help to overcome a polarisation of views detrimental to reaching a consensus about scientific foundations for endocrine disrupter regulation in the EU. ..

Contaminants in Canadian arctic biota and implications for human health: conclusions and knowledge gaps

..The articles in this special issue summarize the peer reviewed literature and selected technical reports on trends of concentrations and possible biological effects of POPs in the Arctic published up to early 2009...

..710). Lakes with smaller watershed areas showed higher SFs, supporting the hypothesis of stereoselective processing of deposited metolachlor within the watersheds, followed by transport to the lakes...

..3 +/- 0.17 to 2.6 +/- 0.51), whereas dimethyl-PFOS showed no biomagnification. The results illustrate the important influence of molecular structure on the bioaccumulation of perfluoroalkyl sulfonates...

..Our findings suggest that different congener pattern exposures to these classes of contaminants should be considered with respect to potential target tissue-specific effects in East Greenland polar bears...

..3 and 27.7 pg/g), and 4'-OH-CB208 (24.5 and 34.7 pg/g) were found in lake trout from Lake Ontario and Lake Superior, respectively. Future studies to delineate the sources and impacts of CPCs in the Great Lakes catchment are needed...

Toxaphene and other persistent organochlorine pesticides in three species of albatrosses from the north and south Pacific Ocean

..The gender composition of fish samples and the type and level of covariate used in statistical analyses should be considered in studies of spatiotemporal variation in organochlorine bioaccumulation in fish...

Persistent halogenated organic contaminants and mercury in northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) from the Canadian Arctic

..Toxaphene was detected in great blue heron eggs at levels comparable to those of other major chlorinated pesticides. Major toxaphene congeners were octachlorobornane P44 and the nonachlorobornane P50. Environ...

Target tissue selectivity and burdens of diverse classes of brominated and chlorinated contaminants in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from East Greenland

..MeO and OH groups). The tissue- and blood-specific accumulation (or retention) among organohalogen classes indicates that exposure and any potential contaminant-mediated effects in these polar bears are likely tissue or blood specific...

Are there other persistent organic pollutants? A challenge for environmental chemists

..S. sites indicate highly populated urban areas in the New York to Washington corridor as the main sources of PFOA, although low PFOA levels associated with air masses coming off the Atlantic Ocean imply multiple sources...

Distribution of haloacetic acids in the water columns of the Laurentian Great Lakes and Lake Malawi

..These findings imply that variations in the isotopic makeup of Hg, together with related physical, chemical, and biological data, could yield important new information about the biogeochemical cycle of Hg...

..The relative contribution by combustion sources and emissions from technical PCN mixtures is expected to vary among sites since it depends on the combustion sources and the technical mixture used in a particular country or region...

Brominated flame retardants in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, East Greenland, and Svalbard

..Globally resolved data will also foster the development and validation of global transport models for POPs, and the investigation of seasonal and interannual trends in concentrations of POPs in the global atmosphere...

..Given the prominence of CPs, particularly in lake waters and in lower food web organisms, further investigation is needed to evaluate the magnitude of their distribution and accumulation/magnification in the Great Lakes environment...

Polymeric brominated flame retardants: are they a relevant source of emerging brominated aromatic compounds in the environment?

..However, these model predictions suffered from a lack of information on the actual use of polymeric BFRs. Hence, further work is needed to assess the release of potentially persistent brominated aromatic compounds from polymeric BFRs...

Estrogenic activity of dicofol with the human estrogen receptor: Isomer- and enantiomer-specific implications

..1 to 5.9 pg/m3). In addition, results of this study also indicate that local perfluoroalkyl contamination of Resolute Lake, which is located downstream of an airport wastewater input, has occurred...

..Further, the relatively short doubling times of the PFCAs and PFOS disappearance half-lives support the hypothesis of atmospheric transport as the main transport mechanism of PFCs to the arctic environment...

..In addition to continued biomonitoring, further research on health and population status is needed to evaluate the impact from chronic exposure of polar bear populations to CHCs and their metabolites...

..The nonuniform nature of the spatial distribution of both polyfluorinated sulfonamides and FTOHs is indicative of the importance of point sources for the dissemination of these contaminants in the North American troposphere...

..Nonetheless, PHCs are also found in marine mammal tissues from the Southern Hemisphere and in remote regions such as the Arctic, reflecting the global distribution and contamination of PHCs in the marine ecosystem...

Atmospheric distribution and long-range transport behavior of organochlorine pesticides in North America

..This result suggests that significant biotransformation may occur for metabolizable PCB congeners over the lifespan of these biota. This study highlights the potential of chiral analysis to study biotransformation processes in food webs...

Levels and temporal trends of toxaphene congeners in beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from the St. Lawrence Estuary, Canada

..A simple deposition model indicated that dry deposition of TFA and TCA should not be neglected in temperate mid-latitude environments and that precipitation concentrations can be successfully predicted by the Henry's law constant...

Concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in amphipods (Gammarus lacustris) along an elevation gradient in mountain lakes of western Canada

..Because Gammarus is an important trophic link in aquatic foodwebs in these environments, enhanced concentrations of toxicants in prey may increase their biomagnification in top predators of high-altitude lakes...

Regional and species specific bioaccumulation of major and trace elements in Arctic seabirds

..GM concentrations (pg/m3) were 17 for PCBs and 4 for PBDEs. Sampling under GAPS will continue and will eventually allow seasonality effects and longer-term temporal and spatial trends to be evaluated...

Empirical and modeling evidence of the long-range atmospheric transport of decabromodiphenyl ether